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New Braunfels Herald Zeitung (Newspaper) - October 10, 1997, New Braunfels, Texas
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22 pages in two sections ■ Friday, October 10,1997
Serving Comal County and surrounding areas for more than 145 years ■ Home of Tammy Hand
Vol. 145, No. 237
Inside
Editorial........................................4A
Sports......................................1B-4B
Comics........................................10B
Market Place.............................4-9B
Dear Abby....................................3A
Stiimmtisch
Birthday wishes from the Herald-Zeitung!
The New Braunfels Hercdd-Zeitung extends birthday wishes to: Tammy Hand, Jim Beath, Roberta Kuempel, Kimberley Decker (Monday), Stephen Skeen (Monday), Charlie Brown (Saturday), Dora Esquivel, Karen Corvan (Saturday), Javier Gonzales (16 years Saturday), Laverne Welborn, Nancy Trejo Gonzales (31 years), Margo Friesenhahn, Mary I. Torres, Rozlynn Rosales (Saturday) and Sylvia Vela.
To have a birthday or anniversary listed here, call 625-9144.
Pollen Count
Mold —2,614 Ragweed —174 (Prien measured n parts per cubic meter of ar. Informalon provided by Dr. Frank Hampel.)
River Information
Comal River — 304 cubic feet per second, up 5 from Thursday.
Edwards Aquifer Panther Canyon Well — 625.46 feet above sea level, up 05 from Thursday.
Canyon Dam discharge — 166 cfs Canyon Lake inflow — not available Canyon Lake level — 906.83 feet above sea level.
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NBW Braunfels uunues
NBL) reports pumping 6 038 million gallons of surface water Wednesday, and no wail water was used.
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Cloudy skies linger for weekend Tonight — Cloudy with a 70 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, locally heavy rainfall possible Low in the lower 70s. Northeast wind near 10 mph.
Saturday — Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. High in the mid 80s. Southeast wind 10-15 mph.
Sunday — Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers or thunderstorms. Highs in the 80s
Roadwork
•Texas Department of Transportation crews are continuing work to expand Interstate 35 between Solms Road and Farm-to-Market 3009. No lanes will be closed, but southbound exits, with the exception of FM 2252/FM 482, will be closed. All northbound lanes are open.
• Crews are working on FM 1102 between Watson Lane and Hoffman Lane Once pavement work begins, traffic likely will be reduced to one lane.
• In addition to routine repairs, county crews will be working on Barbarosa Lane. The road will remain open to traffic
• Construction is scheduled to seal coat Old McQueeney Road, Morningside Drive, Mesquite Avenue and Old Marion Road through Friday. Overlay of those streets will begin next week. Traffic will be limited to one lane.
Qruono Music Fost —I this wktnd
Music lovers will be in Gruene this weekend for the Gruene Music Fest ‘97, rain or shine. Most of the performances are in doors or under tents. F ^stivities will kick off tonight with Johnny Dees and the Rocket 88 s performing from 8:30 p.m. to midnight. Performances are planned for Saturday and Sunday.
Sheriffs office: Comal has 11,000 warrants pending
By DAVID DEKUNDER
Staff Writer
The Comal County Sheriffs Office has thousands of outstanding warrants against those charged with crimes in the county, according to Corporal Max Wommack.
“We have 11,000 rn the county that haven’t been arrested or processed,” Wommack said.
A Comal County grand jury Wednesday indict
ed Dino Baiza, 18, of Seguin for one count of aggravated robbery that took place at The Hunting Camp Pawn Shop on Aug. 2.
During the robbery, Baiza allegedly shot owner Michael Kivlin, 51, in the head with a handgun.
Baiza had an outstanding burglary warrant from Guadalupe County when he was arrested on Aug. 27 in Jim Wells County for an unauthorized use of a vehicle. Baiza was behind bars in Turn to Warrants, Page 2A
Lawmen schedule warrant roundup Oct. 22
Corporal Max Wommackr chief warrant officer for Comal County Sheriffs Office, said law enforcement officials would cooperate on a countywide warrant roundup Oct. 22.
Along with the CCSO, officers from the Department of Public Safety and the New
Braunfels Police Department will participate.
“lf anybody thinks they have an outstanding warrant, contact the sheriffs office or the NBPD if it is a municipal one,” Wommack said. 'This is a chance to take care of this without the embarrassment of going to jail.”
We’re cooking now
Herakl-Zertung photos by Michael Damaii
Above, hundreds showed up for the Taste of Home Cooking School at New Braunfels High School Cafetorium Thursday night The event, sponsored by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, featured on-stage preparation of numarous recipes, Kitchen equipment and food products and tachniquaa. At left, Margaret McCutcheon shows the crowd how to cook a pasta
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dish during the Taste of Home Cooking School.
Schism leads 1st Protestant to leave UCC
Health department stops AIDS testing
By SUSAN JAKOBSEN
Staff Writer
The Comal County Public Health Department in New Braunfels no longer offers testing for the virus that causes AIDS, according to a local official.
HIV blood tests have been discontinued tor “quite a few reasons," said Comal County nurse Shel McWilliams.
A large no-show rate of people who schedule HJV testing has made it difficult to provide the test as a service to the community.
“We’ve had a 60 percent noshow rate for AIDS testing during the past several
months,” said McWilliams, making it hard to justify the amount of stall'time expended for broken appointments.
“Many people will call and be very frantic, and often we can get them in the next day, and they don’t show up,” she said.
Small staffing also has forced health department officials to pnontize what treatments and services are needed the most by Comal C ounty residents, she said, and HIV testing was not one of them.
Costs of HIV blood tests vary depending on where they are given. The health department charged S IO for the initial test, which also covered counseling costs. A followup test was $5.
Doctors offices are able to offer the test, but costs vary depending on location McKenna Hospital provides the test, but it requires a doctor’s order, said Jennifer Covington, McKenna public information officer The San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department at 322 W. Commerce, (210) 299-8830, welcomes walk-ins who wish to have HJV testing done, she said. The HIV test is provided at no cost.
The Community Clinic, 219 W. Olmos in San Antonio, is available through appointment only at (2 IO) 821-5522, both day and evening. The Community Clinic also offers the HIV test on a sliding-scale fee and free counseling.
By SUSAN JAKOBSEN
Staff Writer
Members of the First Protestant Church in New Braunfels voted Tuesday to end a 40-year association with the United Church of Christ.
The split is a result of the con-greaation's unwillingness to accept UCC’s decision to bless relationships between same-sex couples.
More than 300 people attended the special meeting to vote on revising the constitution of the church. 172 W. Coll St. Amendments included cutting ties with the United Church of Christ denomination and removing all references to the UCC in First Protestant’s constitution.
Emotional debate from First Protestant clergy and members chronicled the UCC’s shift toward liberalism since the 1960s, a denomination that today upholds partial birth abortions and supports same-sex domestic partners to the point of offering health benefit plans to homosexual clergy.
The congregation voted overwhelmingly in favor of leaving the UCC. Hand votes were taken at the end of the debate. A total of 290 favored breaking away from the UCC while 11 showed their hands in favor of remaining and 11 others cast no vote either way.
Rev. Daryl Higgins, senior minister, said the decision meant remaining loyal to the faith and heritage of the church, w hich will continue independently as Evangelical reformed.
“This church and town’s foundings are synonymous with German Evangelicals” and “The spirit of the Evangelical movement,” said Higgins.
Richard Carse, First Protestant co-pastor, resigned his position in the UCC denomination early Wednesday morning Higgins has not resigned his position in the UCC church yet. He said that w ould come at a later time.
(Inc member who has spanned the years of change in First Protestant said he welcomed the return to conventionalism.
"I was thrilled that this (vote) happened this way,” said Gene Momhmweg. treasurer of the church, whose father began preaching at First Protestant in 1890 w hen the church was known
‘First Protestant has always maintained as a part of its foundation the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Tho authority of tho Bible is God’s inspired word. Anything that would contradict that is not of God and wrong.’
— Rev. Daryl Higgins
as Erste Protestanischc K ire he zu Neu Braunfels. First Protestant Church is the oldest recognized Protestant church in New Braunfels. Family hentage and personal conviction moved him in support of the decision.
“I am very concerned about what happens to our church," he said.
Higgins, who was ordained in the UCC, said the decision affected him very personally.
“The vote Tuesday ev ening liberated me.” said Higgins "I’ve felt increasingly abandoned" by the UCC denomination, he said Some may feel “divisive issue” is a mild way of describing the UCC stance, a blatant departure from Biblically-based doctrines.
Another divisive issue for First Protestant members was the issue of abortion. A UCC official in Cleveland wrote a letter to President Clinton last year personally congratulating the president for his decision on partial-birth abortions, signing the letter to include, through himself, other members of UCC denominations who had no know ledge of such a letter before it was sent.
Other UCC theology seems to be evolving with the times One minister in a recent UCC’ newsletter tried to compare how the ceremony of circumcision that evolved between the Old and New Testaments was akin to the evolution of accepting homosexual marriages
Turn to Church, Page 2A
CISD trustees consider options if bond election fails
By DENISE DZIUK KNIGHT
Staff Writer
Comal Independent School District board of trustees approved in a split vote Thursday night the options it will consider if the November bond election fails.
On Nov. 8, CISD taxpayers will decide on a $92.185 million bond issue that would provide funds fra: renovations and expansions of existing campuses, construction of three new schools and a technology upgrade.
Superintendent Jenry Miyor said district residents have already begun ask
ing the administration and trustees what would be (tone if the bond election failed. He said the board needed to start looking at its options, and they are the same as previous years.
“You’ve seen them before,” he told the board. “If this bond issue does not move forward and we can’t build new schools, what are we going to do?*’
Jerry Major
Major outlined the options, which included year-round school, more portable buildings, increasing class size and changing attendance zones Although class size varies at the high school level, the district has tried to maintain a ratio of 25 or 28 students per teacher, said CISD public information officer Don Clark.
Major said having larger classes could be done, and would probably save money, but “I’m not sure that’s the route anyone wants to go.”
Major told the board the strongest option was to change boundary lines, especially at the high school level. Oth
erwise, one school would have 1,800 students while the other would be closer to 1,500.
“At least the misery will be shared. ’ he said.
Trustees endorsed the idea. saying it would “share the load.”
“If we’re going to have two high schools, we probably need to make some changes,” said trustee Scott Watson. “lf we’re going lo have three high schools, it can probably stay the same until the third one’s built It kind of depends on what happens ”
Although trustees agreed changing attendance zones was a viable option.
they differed on whether to leave the possibility of split schedules and year-round school on the list.
‘That scares people, and I personally think that needs to be wiped out,” said trustee John Clay, who called it a scare tactic.
Trustee Lester Jonas also said voters could construe it as a threat.
Bourd president Dan Krueger said he did not see split schedules and year-round schools as a scare tactic. He said the other options could be ruled out based on budget and space constraints, and that could be the board’s only option.
Turn to CISD, Page 2AArchbishop Flores to bless pro-life memorial — Page 6A; fair winners — Page 10A
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